Gen 9 OU Tier List 2026: The Best Pokémon for Ranked Singles

This is a role-based illustrative shortlist, not a statistically ranked top 50 or a measurement of the current most-used Pokémon. Gholdengo, Kingambit, Great Tusk, Landorus-Therian, Dragapult, and Garganacl illustrate different approaches to hazards, pressure, defensive play and endgames. For a current usage ranking, consult the source statistics linked below.

This guide is not a live legality checker. Review Smogon's SV OU rules and banlist and usage statistics before importing a team. The Metamons builder helps edit sets but does not enforce the complete OU banlist.

Wallbreakers and setup sweepers

• Kingambit. Supreme Overlord scales its attack with every fainted teammate, turning it into a one-Pokémon win condition in the late game. Sucker Punch picks off faster threats that try to revenge it.
• Iron Valiant. High-Speed special and physical attacker with a coverage movepool wide enough to threaten almost any defensive answer.
• Important legality note: Roaring Moon is banned from standard SV OU. It can be studied as a historical metagame threat but must not be added to a current SV OU team.

Pivots and hazard control

• Gholdengo. Steel/Ghost typing leaves it without a clean switch-in for most teams, and Recover keeps it alive across a full game.
• Great Tusk. Rapid Spin removes hazards while Ground-type bulk lets it check a wide swath of physical attackers.
• Landorus-Therian. Intimidate softens incoming physical hits and it sets Stealth Rock in the same slot.

Bulky defensive anchors

• Garganacl. Purifying Salt blocks status, and Salt Cure plus Recover lets it stall out matchups that would otherwise be unwinnable.
• Toxapex. Regenerator and a strong defensive typing make it the backbone of most stall and bulky-offense builds.
• Slowking-Galar. Future Sight plus a strong special bulk profile gives slower teams a way to break past defensive cores.

Speed control and revenge killers

• Dragapult. The fastest reliable dual-STAB attacker in the tier, built to clean up after the rest of the team has worn the opponent down.
• Fast Choice Scarf users. Choose a legal revenge killer based on specific Speed benchmarks, attacking coverage, and the team's defensive needs. Iron Bundle is banned from standard SV OU, so it is not an OU option.

How to read a tier list like this

A tier list only tells you what's common, not what beats your team. Before copying any of these directly into a build:

1. Check what each Pokémon is weak to, and whether your own roster stacks those weaknesses. The type coverage guide walks the audit.
2. Confirm the set (item, EVs, moves) you're copying still matches the current banlist. Smogon updates sets as the meta shifts.
3. Don't draft six "best Pokémon" picks with no shared game plan. Read how to build a Smogon team for the role-first process that turns a list like this into an actual roster.

Related Pokémon to study

Open any of these in the Metamons Pokédex for full stats, abilities, and a live type-matchup read:

• Gholdengo
• Kingambit
• Great Tusk
• Landorus-Therian
• Dragapult
• Garganacl

Next steps

1. Pick three or four names from this list that share a game plan, not just raw power.
2. Want a ready-made team? Check out the best Gen 9 OU teams for complete 6-Pokémon lineups with full sets and EV spreads.
3. Build the supporting core around them using the Smogon team-building guide.
4. Run the type coverage and Speed tier checks before your first ranked game, or let the AI team rater audit your team automatically.
5. Re-check this list periodically, since OU shifts every time the tier council bans, frees, or suspects a Pokémon.